


The Amazing Adventures of Kevin Walker, Superhero Extraordinaire

by mardia



Category: Brothers & Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-19
Updated: 2008-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 04:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1632098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mardia/pseuds/mardia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There will be no tights, no cape, and certainly no godawful combination of primary colors. The rest, Kevin's pretty flexible on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Amazing Adventures of Kevin Walker, Superhero Extraordinaire

**Author's Note:**

> Major thanks go out to both inlovewithnight and romanticalgirl, who helped me out tremendously with their encouragment and suggestions. Also, the essay referenced was written by Larry Niven.
> 
> Written for silksieve

 

 

The first thing Kevin can think, when he's finally managed to stop gaping in horror and the rapid-fire pounding of his heart has gotten a little bit less loud is, _Oh, my God, I've got a brain tumor._

That's the only explanation he can _think_ of, the only explanation that doesn't involve him currently experiencing an extremely bizarre and vivid dream, especially since the five pinches he's already given himself have kind of killed that theory. 

"This is not happening," he mutters desperately, shutting his eyes for the eleventh time since he'd woken up to the no-longer familiar sight of his bedroom ceiling--or rather, what should have been the familiar sight of his bedroom ceiling. But when Kevin opens his eyes, the result is as alarming as the other ten tries--his vision keeps shifting from normal to decidedly _not._

His heart pounding, Kevin looks down at his hand, and his stomach immediately starts to churn once more. Instead of skin and fingernails, Kevin sees tendons and veins, like his hand has been flayed open--and then his vision changes once more, and all Kevin's looking at is a skeleton hand-- _his_ skeleton hand. 

"Oh, fuck," Kevin says softly--he'd be screaming it from the rooftops, except he really does think he's going to faint any minute now, and the way this morning's turning out, that'd be the first good thing to happen to him.

*

"Okay," Tommy says, and Kevin feels grateful to his brother for the moment--even though Tommy's clearly as freaked out as everyone else--he's at least able to speak. Everyone else has just been gaping at him for the last hour. 

Kevin supposes that it beats screaming in terror and running away, so that's something.

"Okay, so let's recap," Tommy says firmly. "You woke up this morning with x-ray vision."

Kevin nods. "That's gone now, though. Mostly. It flickers from time to time."

"And in the last few hours, you've developed super-speed, super-strength, and you can also apparently levitate," Tommy rattles off, his voice getting fainter with every word, like he can barely believe what he's saying. 

Kevin can't really blame him for that last part. He's actually the one doing all this stuff and he still can't believe it. "Yeah. I mean--that's really the only way to explain what happened to my car. Either that's the most faulty automobile to ever come off an assembly line or--" He waves his hands helplessly, and makes a mental note not to do that again. The way things are turning out, he might accidentally give someone a concussion with a mere flick of the wrist. If not worse.

Tommy nods. "Have we left anything out?" 

Kevin has to think about it. "No, I think that's everything," he says. "Although my hearing's not--I've been hearing things I shouldn't have, so maybe we should add that to the list."

"Holy shit," Justin says faintly. "My brother's Superman."

*

_"When was the moment I realized what was going on? When I saw my brother's car that first day--it was like the Hulk had gone apes-- on the thing. There were holes in the floor from where he'd tried to hit the gas, the doors were missing...it was just a mess. And there's Kevin, all freaked out and...yeah. That's when it hit me."_

\--Justin Walker, as quoted in the October 2006 issue of Rolling Stone

*

There's a four-star general standing in his mother's kitchen, along with the Deputy Director of the FBI, four White House officials, and the LAPD police chief. Not to mention the army of paparazzi staking out the house, cameras in hand.

The part of Kevin that isn't silently hyperventilating is wondering how his mother is even paying attention to the conversation, since he knows that her mind is fixed on how the menu she'll need in order to feed all these people.

General Andrews is glaring at him and asking, "Were you _ever_ going to come forward to the authorities?"

Carter's on that in a flash, though--and the sight of his former boss acting as his lawyer would be one of the more surreal things Kevin had ever seen--if he wasn't currently trying to deal with all this...superhero stuff. "Considering that my client broke no laws, I'm not sure why you think he had a duty to turn himself in."

"If he had, we might have been able to avoid that three-ring circus today," Chief Tupulski shoots back, but Nora is on that just as quick.

"He saved those bank hostages. There were no injuries--"

"--except for the bank robbers," Kevin quips _sotto voce_ but ironically enough, no one's paying attention to him for the moment. 

"--and no casualties, and the bank didn't lose a single dime. How is that a bad thing?" Nora finishes, glaring at everyone. 

"You mean aside from the property damage?" Tupulski responds sarcastically. 

Nora opens her mouth, but Kevin gently--he'll have to think about every single move he makes for the rest of his life now--lays a hand on his mother's arm, silently pleading with her not to make this worse. 

After about fifteen minutes of sniping, Kevin quietly leaves the kitchen. Two armed men are following him and Kevin ignores them as best he can. If he wants to leave, they can't stop him, and they all know it. But they can hurt his family, and so for now, Kevin's following every rule they've laid out.

He goes out to the pool, and finds Sarah there, sitting by the edge. She looks up and gives him a soft smile. "Hey--how are you doing?"

Kevin shrugs. "About as well as can be expected." Sarah glances past him to see the armed guards. 

"Can they--can you guys leave us alone for a moment?" she asks, her voice sharp. They look at each other and then shake their heads. Sarah seems ready to argue, but Kevin holds up a hand. 

"It's fine."

"No, it's not," Sarah snaps out. "Kevin, they're treating you like you're a criminal--"

"No, they're treating me like a threat," Kevin says. "Which I am."

Sarah looks at him for a moment, then says, her voice harder than he's ever heard it before, "Don't you ever talk about yourself like that."

"Sarah--"

"No," she says, standing up. "No, because I am going to hear it from politicians and from news anchors and from the papers, and I won't hear it from you, Kevin. Not from you."

She takes his face in her hands and Kevin closes his eyes. "You were a _hero_ today, Kevin. Don't let them try and take that from you."

Kevin opens his eyes. "Sarah, I might not have a _choice._ "

They've got him over a barrel, is the thing. He's not Superman or Spiderman. He doesn't have a secret identity or a mask to hide behind. What's being blasted over every single news channel in the world is the sight of him, Kevin Walker, doing what no human being should be able to do. They know where he lives, where his family lives, and maybe Kevin can outrun the paparazzi or the men in lab coats or even the guys in a tank--but his family can't.

They can't, and so Kevin can't either.

There are footsteps, and without turning around, Kevin asks, "Chief? Is there anything you wanted?"

When he does turn around, Chief Tupulski is looking at him and saying in a neutral tone, "You'd better come inside. We have more things to talk about."

*

_"Of course the LAPD is grateful for Mr. Walker's assistance, as they are grateful for the assistance of all of the citizens of our city."_

\--Official response of the Los Angeles Police Department

*

Kevin's hands are trembling, and he shoves them into his pockets before anyone can notice. Kitty's in a huddle with Kevin's new publicist, Elise--and this is just insane, whoever heard of Superman needing a publicist?--while the makeup artist finishes with him and Chief Tupulski. 

The worst part is that the makeup artist--Kevin thinks her name is Tracey--is shaking even harder than he is. He wants to say something, but how the hell do you convince people not to be afraid of you? She, along with the entire world, has seen him bend steel like it's made of taffy. He could crush her without breaking a sweat, and she knows it, and he knows it. Tracey finally steps away when she's done, and Kevin tries not to slump in relief.

"You ready?" Kitty asks, stepping away from Elise long enough to look him over, and adjusts his tie quickly.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Kevin mutters. 

Kitty nods quickly and then reaches out to hug him. Kevin blinks, surprised, and then hesitantly hugs her back. 

Kitty huffs into his shoulder. "You know, you can actually hug me. I'm not going to break."

She can though, and Kevin knows it, even if she doesn't. He respects and loves his sister and his family, but God help him, he can't look at them and see them as anything but incredibly fragile.

Still, he takes a risk and hugs her just a little bit tighter. When she pulls away, she's smiling. "You're going to be fine," Kitty promises, and for a second, Kevin almost lets himself believe her.

When he finally steps outside onto the podium, the flashes blind him for a moment. He blinks, and breathes, and waits for his turn to speak, to convince the world that they shouldn't be afraid, even though he is. 

*

_"My nephew is not a danger to society... he is a good man, who wishes only to help."_

\--Saul Holden, as quoted by CNN.

*

Kevin has an entirely new life now that doesn't belong to him. He has a life where he wears something that looks like a thick silver bracelet encircling his wrist, one that buzzes at a high enough frequency that only he and dogs can hear it. He lives with his pager and his cell phone at his side 24/7, so that if by some miracle the alarm on the bracelet doesn't work, he's still within reach. 

He meets with psychiatrists once a week so that they can hopefully stop him from ever getting delusions of grandeur and trying to take over the world. He meets with his doctors three times a week, his schedule permitting, so they can figure out what the hell happened to turn a guy in his mid-thirties into the closest thing to Superman they've ever seen. He saw the relief in people's faces when they found out that bullets don't in fact bounce off his skin, because now they know they've got a way to stop him, if stopping him becomes necessary. 

He's stopped watching the news on TV, because chances are that the networks will be airing yet another story on him, where he helps people who are in car accidents or who are trapped inside a burning building, and Kevin still isn't used to seeing his face on a screen or hearing his name uttered by news anchors. 

He's stopped buying his own groceries because the paparazzi are constantly stalking him. Apparently he's become more fascinating than Brangelina, than Britney and Lindsay. His family's trying to talk him into continuing some sort of normal routine, insisting that he can't let the media take away every sense of normalcy he has. Kevin always retorts that his life stopped being anywhere close to normal the minute he started seeing through walls. 

One day, his mother asks, "Are you happy?"

Kevin blinks, nonplussed. "What?"

"It's just...you have so much to deal with, so much--trouble, and I was...I was hoping that there were parts of this that you loved." 

Kevin looks at her, and sees the worry in her eyes, the anxiety and the fear. He knows that his entire family is scared stiff, that Kitty religiously follows the media attention, that Tommy's taken to anonymously arguing with bloggers on the Internet, that Justin and Sarah will make the comments to the media that he won't. That his mother and Saul watch him anxiously, every day, for the moment where he begins to finally crack under the burden. 

They're all so worried about him, and Kevin wishes that he could fix that. 

He can't, not really, but maybe he can give them something. "The flying's pretty awesome," he says with a smile. "It's...you should see it, see the views I can get...when I'm up there, I can't help but think that it's all worth it. Every hassle, every problem this has caused--I get to _fly_ , Mom. There's no way that's a bad thing."

His mother smiles, and there's so much relief in it that Kevin aches for her, suddenly. "That's good. That's--that's good to hear. Maybe you can take me up sometime."

Kevin grins. "How about now?"

"Oh, oh, well I--" She seems to hesitate for a moment, then makes a decision. "You know what, why not?" 

Kevin laughs, and holds his arms open. 

*

_"Of course I'm terrified. I'm a mother. Half of the job description is worrying about your kids. I'm terrified he's going to get hurt, I'm scared he'll never have anything close to a normal life. But...I know my son. He wants to fix things, he wants to help people. There's no way that he could be given these...abilities and not try and do some good with them. That's just not who my son is."_

\--Nora Walker, from an interview with Good Morning America 

*

Kevin lands gently, barely making a sound, and Sergeant Ronald Wilder jumps as he turns around and catches sight of him. "Jesus Christ, Walker," he mutters. "We need to get you a little bell to hang around your neck. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to sneak up on people like that?"

"Mostly she was focused on trying to get me to eat my vegetables," Kevin murmurs, distracted as he takes in the scene. Neighborhood of single-story houses, including the one that's currently surrounded by three different squad cars, SWAT, and police tape, not to mention the two news crews that have just pulled up. "What's the situation?"

Ron makes a face. "Schizo holding his girlfriend hostage. Apparently when she realized he was off his meds again, that was the last straw for her, she calls it quits. Boyfriend goes even nuttier."

"Wonderful," Kevin murmurs. "Where do you want me?"

Ron grins sharply. "The guy's insisting he's got bombs planted around the house. Dogs aren't alerting, but all the same--you do your little X-ray thing, if it's not true, then you whoosh in there, disarm the perp before he blinks, and we're all heroes."

"So it's a regular Tuesday then," Kevin responds, and Ron cackles. 

*

_"I've got to admit, when the brass came down with their decision, I was a little dubious. But then we all started working with the guy, and I've got to say, it's going pretty well so far. It's not just that he's willing to get in there and put himself on the line, but he's willing to listen, you know what I mean? He's not rushing in there, all John Wayne, like some kind of cowboy--he comes in, he asks how he can help, and he listens to what you've got to say. He takes direction, which is very much appreciated, believe me. So would I say he's an asset to the force? Absolutely."_

\--LAPD Sergeant Ronald Wilder, as quoted in an article from the Los Angeles Times

*

Kevin hasn't had a chance to really use his law degree in months, though he does amuse himself by crafting up the response he'll need for the inevitable day when someone sues him for the property damage he inflicts, but that day hasn't hit yet. 

The day Justin gets his letter from the army is a day Kevin gets a chance to use his law degree again, and he wishes he didn't have to. Justin's spinning madly out of control and Kevin can't do a thing, he can't do a single thing. 

"Maybe--Kevin, if you could just talk to someone--" his mother begins, hesitant. Kevin opens his mouth--to say what, he doesn't know, except he does, he'll do it, for them, for Justin, but Justin's already nixing that idea before he can say yes. 

"No, no way," Justin's snapping out. "Kevin's not going to pull strings to get me out of this, are you nuts?"

That's when the yelling starts in earnest, and Kevin stays silent until he can't anymore, until the words are bursting out of him. "Justin, I can't just let you go back there without at least _trying_ to help!" 

Justin stares at him for a moment, and then says, "Yeah, you can. That's exactly what you're going to do. Kev, do you even _get_ what--" He stops, looking frustrated, then begins again. "Every day I've got people coming up to me, wanting to give their thanks, because I'm your brother. You might not read all the letters you get--"

"To be fair, I get a lot," Kevin mutters, but Justin barrels over that like he's not even listening.

"Look, I know we try to ignore this, but--Kevin, you're the most famous person on the planet right now. You're ridiculously famous, and it's not because you sing or you're in a lot of movies or because you're on some stupid reality show--you're famous because you save _lives_ , because you were given this--this _gift_ and you've decided to do the right thing with it and _help_ people and if you--if you do this, pull strings to help me out of a jam, then all that goes out the window." Justin takes a breath and says, "I'm scared out of my mind, but I'm not scared enough that I can't see that."

Everyone is silent for what feels like an eternity. 

"You say the word, and I _can_ do this," Kevin says at last, his voice hoarse. "I get what you're saying, Justin, but--you're my brother."

"I know," Justin says. "And I'm asking you, please--don't."

His mother takes a deep, shuddering breath, and Kevin somehow manages to respond, "Okay. Okay, I won't." And so he's left to wonder what good any of this is, when he can save dozens of strangers but not his own brother. 

*

_"Trust me, my brother's not in this for the praise. His life has been turned completely upside-down by all of this. It's...he feels a duty to help."_

\--Sarah Walker, as quoted in an interview on Good Morning America

*

The thing that Kevin's never going to get used to is the way that politics seems to just seep into _everything_ now. Everything's got an angle, everything has ramifications, everything Kevin does or says will be analyzed and fought over by thousands of strangers that don't know him, but will assign motives to him nonetheless.

"Here's the thing," Elise explains. "They've got quotes, and they've got some of your ex-boyfriends, they are absolutely going to run with the story--"

Kevin holds up a hand and Elise falls silent, which is gratifying. Kevin hasn't really warmed up to his publicist yet--a part of him still resents the fact that he needs one in the first place--but at least she's willing to listen to him finally. "I'm sorry, I'm not seeing the issue here. I'm already out of the closet."

"To a degree, yes, you are. But Kevin--being out to your coworkers and your family and your friends is not the same thing. You're a world-famous figure now, you're a _symbol_ \--"

"So I'll be a gay world-famous figure now," Kevin says, his voice getting a little bit sharper. "I'm not climbing back into the closet because I'm afraid of what a few fundamentalists will say." 

"Not just a few fundamentalists, Kevin," Kitty says wearily, but Kevin won't budge, can't budge. He's given up so much--he's given up almost everything, his job, his life, any semblance of privacy. He can't start selling pieces of his soul too.

"Release the statement," he says shortly, and walks away. 

*

_"My brother has saved dozens of lives and done an incredible amount of good for the city of Los Angeles and for the state of California, not to mention the deeds he's done in states across the country. Why on earth should the fact that he's gay even be an issue here?"_

\--Tommy Walker, in an impromptu statement to Fox News KTTV

*

When Kevin arrives at the house, everyone's already there in the kitchen--his siblings, his mother, Saul--and Elise, so within approximately five seconds he knows what this is about. 

He looks at them warily and then slumps into a seat. "Well, guess I don't even need to ask."

His mother glances nervously at Elise and then begins, "Kevin, sweetheart, it's not that we don't understand the pressure you've been under lately--"

"And it's not like we don't get where you're coming from with the media," Tommy interjects quickly. "It's not like _I'm_ enjoying getting ambushed by a camera crew when I'm just trying to get to work--"

Sarah picks up the thread, "--but we think--we _all_ think that--it might be time for you to--"

"To start listening to your publicist, who's been doing this for two decades and might know a thing or two," Elise finishes caustically. "Kevin, it is past time that you stop avoiding the media and start working with them."

Kevin opens his mouth--to argue, to refuse, but Elise is talking quickly now. "Listen to me. At the beginning, I warned you about this. You said you were going to wait for it all to die down. And I'm going to just say what everyone here already knows--it's been a month since you came out, and none of this is dying down."

"And I suppose you think that if I parade in front of the cameras that it'll stop everyone from talking," Kevin mutters. 

"I sure as hell think it can't hurt," Elise snaps right back, and then sighs and seems to pull herself together. "Look, Kevin--I know the situation is far from ideal. You've got ex-boyfriends coming out of the woodwork, every fundamentalist in the country's having a field day, and let's not forget about the activists demanding--hell, I don't know--that you bust into the White House and order the President to start supporting gay marriage, stop the war in Iraq, and who knows what else."

"You forgot he needs to fix global warming and save the rainforests too," Justin adds, clearly trying to defuse the tension.

Both Kevin and Elise ignore him. "I'm telling you this from twenty years of experience," Elise says as gently as she can. "Unless we do something, it is going to get worse before it gets better."

And the thing is this--if there is anything that Kevin has learned over the past months, it is that _I just_ don't want to is usually a poor reason not to do something. 

Kevin sighs and looks down. "Give me a day or so to think about it, all right?"

He takes more than that, but to his surprise, nobody is pushing for his answer. Of course, that might have to do with the fact that he's having to fly back and forth constantly between LA, Washington, and New York to talk to the UN. 

But in the end, the decision's pretty much taken out of his hands when the video of Kitty, Sarah, and Tommy all furiously arguing with people from the Westboro Baptist Church (whose members have taken it upon themselves to go out and shout horrible, poisonous things about Kevin, his family, gays, and America in general across the street from Ojai) hits both TMZ and YouTube simultaneously.

Kevin spends a good portion of that day shouting at a lot of people, so that he can try to ignore the guilt churning inside of them. He did this, he dropped this unbelievable mess for his family to deal with--the paparazzi, the need for bodyguards and publicists and fences and unlisted numbers and--

He put his family in this position, and even if he didn't have a choice--even if he'd do it all over again, because this has been the only road he can take, the only road he's been given to take--

When he's done shouting, he calls Elise and tells her to set it up. 

*

_It is a colossal understatement to say that this is an interview we've been hoping to get for some time now. It would perhaps be more accurate to say that this is an interview I'd sell my own grandmother to get. (Sorry, Grams.)_

Needless to say, it's an interview I, and my editors at The Advocate _, and every other magazine and news outlet have been fruitlessly chasing for the last few months._

Until one afternoon, when I was called to my editor's office, and she--pale with excitement, said the magic words I'd been hoping to hear for ages. 

"I've got the Walkers' publicist on the line. Kevin wants to do an interview."

\-- "Kevin Walker: The New Millennium's Answer to Superman", by Matt Albright.

*

"You are going to be absolutely fine," Elise promises, but when he steps into the restaurant where the interview with _The Advocate_ is taking place, Kevin's not so sure he believes her.

For one thing, the restaurant is a favorite of Hollywood A-listers, which should by rights mean that everyone here is far too jaded and blasé to do something as uncouth as gawk. And yet, when Kevin walks in, there is a noticeable hush, and Kevin's cheeks start to flush as he notices two celebrities (who have just graced the covers of _US Weekly_ and _People_ respectively) openly gawking at him. 

"All right, let's just keep moving, okay?" Elise murmurs quietly as they trail after the hostess. 

Thankfully, Matt Albright, who's already sitting at their table, is far more composed. His eyes are openly curious as they scan Kevin from head to toe before offering his hand. Kevin has to give the guy credit for that much at least, because he still has to deal with politicians and officials who meet him in private with their hands stuffed in their pockets, clearly terrified Kevin will crush their bones without trying.

Of course, Kevin _can_ do just that--the point is that he _won't_.

"It's great to finally meet you," Matt says, smiling widely. This close, Kevin can hear the slightly elevated pulse of Matt's heart, and is suddenly glad that no one else can hear the rapid pounding of his own, so that he can still pretend that he isn't nervous to an almost ridiculous degree.

"I have to ask," Matt begins, as they sit down, turning on his tape recorder as he does, "--how easy is that for you anyway?"

"How easy is what?" Kevin asks in response.

"Handshakes," Matt says promptly, setting the tape recorder down on the table. "Or just interacting physically with people, period." 

Ah, that old question. "Not that difficult at all," Kevin says quickly, but at Elise's raised eyebrow, relents and elaborates a little bit. "It's easier now than it used to be, that's certain. In the beginning, I was...extremely cautious. In fact, I tried not to touch people at all, if I could help it. But now that I have better control over my abilities, it's like...flicking an on-off switch in my head."

Elise smiles at him, and Kevin relaxes a little bit. He's not anywhere near out of the woods yet, but at least he hasn't screwed up within the first few seconds. That's something.

*

It's actually a lot easier than it should have been. Kevin mostly manages to turn off the lawyer part of his brain, which is constantly turning over phrases and inflection, looking for the hidden edge, the true intentions beneath. To his surprise, the coaching from Elise and Kitty seems to actually be paying off, and no one is more relieved about that than him. Well, maybe Elise.

"So when you came out recently--"

"Actually, I came out when I was eighteen," Kevin corrects. "What happened recently was just me clarifying some things to the press."

Matt raises an eyebrow at that. "Could you elaborate?" 

"To be clear, I was never hiding who I was, I just--there were a million things to do, a million different complex issues that had to be sorted out then. For God's sake, there were international treaties being hammered out over what I could and could not do outside of U.S. borders. At the time, making a statement about my sexuality was...completely beside the point, especially considering that I was in no position to hide it. I was already out at work, among my friends and family--the closet wasn't even in _sight_ at this point."

Matt's nodding as he scribbles down some notes. "Alright, let me clarify. Since you've released that statement, how has the reaction gone?"

"Well, the pundits have had a field day, of course," Kevin says dryly. "And yes, there have been some--regrettable incidents. But on the whole, the reaction's been extremely positive."

Matt smiles at him again. "I'd like to talk about those `incidents', if you don't mind."

Kevin stiffens up a little bit in his seat, but says--"Sure. Of course."

If Matt notices, he doesn't say anything. Elise does, and she gives him a warning look. Kevin tries to relax his shoulders, as Matt begins with his questions. "Were you upset when you heard about the Westboro Baptist church protesting in front of your family's business?"

"That's like asking if the twist ending at the end of The Sixth Sense was surprising," Kevin responds. "It's a huge understatement. Of course I was upset, I was _furious._ My family has been--" He stops suddenly, remembering Kitty's face in the video, the sharp gestures of her hands. How unafraid Sarah had seemed in that moment, how fierce she was. How tall Tommy had stood, how his shoulders had been back and how steady his voice sounded, even when it was raised in anger. How all three of them had not been willing, not for a moment, to stand by and watch silently while people denounced him. 

"My family's been...incredible, through all this. They've been beyond supportive, beyond understanding and--it's easier for me, in some ways. I just...if I'm surrounded by paparazzi, I can just fly away. They can't. My mother has a constant army of paparazzi surrounding her house, as do all my siblings, and my uncle Saul, at this point. And they--they've handled it with a truly incredible amount of grace and poise, considering. I am not at all exaggerating when I say I could not have made it through without them. And instead of them getting the medals they deserve and have earned, they get--they get to deal with bigots like that. So no, I'm not happy about it at all."

He's startled when he feels the soft pressure of Elise's hand on his own, squeezing briefly before letting go. He catches her eyes, and she smiles at him sadly for a moment, then retreats back to her chair to observe.

*

The next part of the interview Kevin's still not sure about. And by not sure, he means that he tried to veto it on five separate occasions but was shouted down by Elise, Kitty, Justin, and his mother. Everyone's signed off on it, and Elise is convinced that it's a brilliant idea. 

Kevin however, is not so thrilled about the idea of letting a reporter into what has become the last and only haven left to him. 

Matt cocks an eyebrow at the car and driver waiting for them outside the restaurant. "You ride in a car?" he asks. 

Kevin has to smile. "Not usually," he allows. "But seeing as how Elise is afraid of heights, I thought this might be best."

It's a relatively quick drive to the house, and as they make their way through the gate and past security, Kevin watches as Matt takes it in, and tries to relax as the door opens and his mother comes outside to greet them. 

He also tries not to think about the million and one ways this can go wrong, because this is his family at dinner with a reporter, and their dinners have gone badly enough without that added stimulus. 

*

But--miraculously--like so much that has happened today, things go much better than Kevin fears.

Everyone's already at the house, and they're all polite and charming and sober. Paige and Cooper immediately tackle him as he enters the house, pleading for a flight-- "Please, Uncle Kevin? And can we go higher this time?" 

When Kevin glances up, Sarah's already shaking her head firmly, so Kevin smiles down at the kids and promises later, if it's okay with their mom. When he looks back up, Sarah's giving him a glare and mouthing, "Thanks a lot, Kev." 

And dinner is a _breeze_ \--Mom's food is as fantastic as ever, and surrounded by his family, Kevin forgets to be nervous, forgets to tense up every time Matt tosses a question into the conversation. Of course, the topic of costumes comes up, which Kevin tries to squash as best as he can. 

"Dude, it's not like we're talking about a cape or anything, I'm just saying some sort of uniform, you know? It'd be awesome."

"No," Kevin's saying, but of course everyone else can't help but chime in.

"You know, I don't think that's such a bad idea," Saul says. 

"Something blue, so it can bring out your eyes," Mom suggests next, smiling. As everyone else is about to come up with their own suggestions--no surprise, Cooper and Paige are totally in favor of the cape--Kevin is forced to hold up his hands and play referee.

"For the thousandth and hopefully last time, there will be no tights, no capes, and no godawful combination of primary colors. Absolutely not." 

*

Of course--because Justin has a big mouth--the question of fanmail comes up when Justin mentions thoughtlessly that he'd been poking through the mail and found some that Kevin might want to look at. "You know, stuff from little kids, there's a high school that wants you to speak at the graduation ceremony, that kind of stuff."

"Are those the usual kind of requests you get?" Matt asks, and Kevin inwardly groans, knowing the field day Tommy and Justin are about to have. 

Sure enough, when he looks across the table, all of his siblings are grinning wickedly, while Uncle Saul is shaking his head in amusement and his mother's trying to hide her own smile. "Oh, no, not this again," Kevin groans. 

"Man," Justin says, grinning, "--you have no idea." At a loud cough from Mom, though, he blushes and says, "But, uh--maybe we should talk about that after dinner. You know--when our mother isn't at the table."

"Or never," Kevin interjects quickly. "That'd work for me too."

But, of course, because his luck is never going to be that good, because after dinner he, Justin, Tommy, and Matt retreat to the kitchen, where Justin and Tommy immediately begin to regale Matt with some of the more bizarre offers Kevin's received. 

"I'm talking everything from proposals to one-night-stands to offers to become his personal slave for a year--you name it, somebody has offered it to him," Justin insists.

"Okay, first off, he's exaggerating," Kevin insists quickly, "--and it's not even like I take any of that seriously. Most of the people he's talking about are offering this sort of stuff right after they've just escaped from a fire or a car accident--they're still in shock, their adrenaline's through the roof--people say weird things when they're in that sort of situation."

Tommy raises a skeptical eyebrow at that. "That still doesn't explain your fanmail."

"That--yeah, okay, I don't really have an explanation for that," Kevin admits after a moment. 

"Well, we do--you're famous, people want you," Justin says, as it's a simple and foregone conclusion, and really--he's kind of right there. "I keep telling you to just read this stuff--" 

"I will not, and I don't see why you are either--"

"There are times when I wish we hadn't, believe me," Tommy interjects. "You would not _believe_ the number of straight men who are apparently willing to turn gay or bi for my brother--and trust me, that is number one on the list of things I did not need to ever know."

*

After dinner, he and Matt are strolling by the pool. "Your family's pretty fantastic," Matt observes, and Kevin smiles. "I can see why you care about them so much." 

"Yeah," Kevin agrees. "They are."

Matt shoots a sidelong glance at him, and then says, "So I think we've hit just about everything...except for this one other thing...your love life."

Kevin looks up at the sky for a moment, then says, "Well, that'll be a quick conversation, considering my love life is nonexistent at the moment." It doesn't really sting to admit that at all, not like he thought it would. "Dating is...really not on my agenda now, and won't be for quite some time, I imagine. Or ever, to be honest."

"Ever?" Matt presses. "You're so sure about that?" 

"As sure as I can be, yeah," Kevin says, and maybe it's stupid to be this honest, but...he can't lie about this one. "I mean, at this point, I find it pretty hard to imagine trying to meet someone in the middle of...all this. And even if I could meet someone who cared about me instead of...this _idea_ of me that's being plastered everywhere, I don't know if I'd even have the time to make a relationship work. Or if I'll ever have the time. And that's not fair to anyone."

*

Everyone's thrilled with the article. Elise is practically dancing with glee, the magazine is reportedly flying off the shelves, his mother is thrilled at the mention of how great her food is, and everyone's happy. Until they read the last part.

It's not like Matt slammed him or his family, but he does report the conversation he and Kevin had, about how Kevin doesn't think he'll ever be in a relationship again, and there is not a single member of his family that doesn't freak out over it. His mother and sisters keep trying to get him to talk about it, Justin keeps trying to set him up with someone from his AA meetings which--okay, no, there is not a _chance_ he is relying on Justin's skills as a matchmaker ever, Tommy's suggesting the Internet, and...Kevin loves his family, but sometimes he wishes they would just realize there are certain things that can't be fixed.

"Kevin, you can't blame us all for being a little worried."

"There's nothing for you to worry about. I'm _fine._ "

Saul raises his eyebrows and just looks at him, in a way that makes Kevin feel like he's thirteen years old all over again. "You just announced in a magazine that you're convinced you're going to be alone for the rest of your life. Tell me why we shouldn't be worried."

"Because I'm not unhappy," Kevin insists. "I'm not, I have all of you, I have a fulfilling career, even if it's not the one I originally planned on having--Saul, I'm fine, I swear."

"But are you _happy?_ " Saul asks, his eyes grave and worried, and Kevin can't quite give him the answer he's looking for. 

*

_"Look, let's face it--Kevin Walker's the number one fantasy for gay and bisexual men everywhere. Which makes this interview in the Advocate so bewildering--given an honest-to-goodness shot at the guy, who isn't going to at least attempt to hit that?"_

\--From an anonymous poster at the After Elton forums

*

Justin takes one look at him and snorts. "Yeah, there's no way you're not getting spotted."

Kevin frowns and adjusts his baseball cap. "There's no reason I shouldn't get away with it," he insists, and Justin gives him a skeptical look. 

"You mean other than the fact that you're the most famous person since...ever?

But amazingly enough, it seems to work. Kevin lands in an alley near the shopping center, and walks into the bookstore, head down just in case. Thankfully, the girl at the desk is too busy doing what looks like a crossword to glance up for more than half a second at her newest potential customer.

Kevin lets out a breath of relief. 

He spends fifteen minutes browsing the fiction section before he notices the guy in the same aisle. Tall, good-looking, and--yep, definitely looking at Kevin. Kevin immediately groans to himself and waits for it, for the `don't I know you? Aren't you...' and the inevitable look of awe and shock and hell, maybe even a request for an autograph...

"Find anything good?" the guy asks. 

"Uh...not yet," Kevin says warily, ducking his head. 

"I've never really been a fan of Chuck Klosterman," the guy muses, actually stepping closer to Kevin. Instinctively Kevin wants to take a step back, but refrains. "But then, I've always been more into comic books and science-fiction than anything else." 

Kevin's left bewildered. Is this guy a reporter? Does he actually not know who Kevin is? "Really," he says, non-committed. 

"Oh, yeah. There's this short essay by this guy named Niven about Superman--"

"Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex?" Kevin finishes, finally getting it. 

The guy beams at him, and Kevin notes that he's got a great smile--white teeth, dimples. Shame he's one of those curiosity seekers determined to know just how Kevin's...plumbing works. "That's the one."

"Hmm," Kevin says, and turns away, trying to signal that the conversation--such as it is--is now at an end.

Unfortunately, the guy isn't taking the hint. "It's a fascinating idea--in fact, there's no reason it isn't actually valid. Penetrative sex with someone like Superman probably would kill you." Bewildered, Kevin finally looks the guy in the face, and is knocked off-guard by his smile. "So," the guy finishes, "I suppose handjobs would just have to do."

As Kevin gapes, the guy walks off to the register, pays for his purchases and heads out the door. 

It takes Kevin an embarrassingly long time to figure it out, but he finally does. The guy wasn't actually asking him incredibly rude questions--he was flirting. And Kevin--well, Kevin had just stood there. Like an idiot.

To be fair, it's been a while--Kevin gets hit on all the time, sure, but that's different, they're hitting on Kevin Walker, Superhero, but this guy--this guy was _flirting_ , like Kevin was a regular guy he'd seen in a bookstore, and not--

His mind buzzing, Kevin exits the bookstore, ignoring the clerk's double-take as she finally gets a good look at his features, and scans the street for the guy, until--

He spots him, entering the Goliath National Bank across the street. Kevin glances both ways, and then puts on a burst of super-speed and zips across into the building. 

He enters the building, about to call after the guy and ask if he really was flirting when Kevin notices the fifteen or so people lying on the ground, their hands covering their heads, and oh, yeah--the seven guys in masks with machine guns.

"Holy shit, it's Walker--"

\--and before Kevin can even blink, he's being knocked down as a gun goes off--

\--and there's someone lying on top of his and hissing in pain and there's something sticky and hot on his hand--

\--and the guy from the bookstore is groaning and going, "Oh my God, I'm shot."

Kevin stares up at him, at his pale face and the blood pouring out of the hole in his shoulder and goes, "Okay, okay--just hang on and don't die, I have to go take care of this." Kevin gently sets him down on the floor and then gets off to work. 

It doesn't take too long--Kevin's in a hurry, obviously, and instead of his usual finesse, he leaves the bad guys looking like they're extras in a bondage film, but Kevin honestly doesn't care about that. He's got more important things on his mind.

Bookstore Guy is still alive when Kevin turns back to him; he's a little paler but is smiling bravely and saying in an impressed tone, "Wow, you really _are_ good at this."

Kevin ignores that and says, urgently, "Okay, now we've got to get you to the ER? Are you afraid of heights?" Bookstore Guy shakes his head, eyes wide, and Kevin nods briskly. "Okay then, good." And with that, he lifts the man in his arms, steps out of the bank--where the police cars are just starting to line up and takes off into the air. 

*

Kevin's dozing in the chair fitfully when he hears a faint, "Holy crap, I wasn't dreaming."

He opens his eyes to find Bookstore Guy--otherwise known as Scotty Wandell peering at him from his hospital bed, eyes wide with surprise. "Hey," Kevin says. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Scotty says. "You know, aside from the gunshot wound and all." Kevin smiles at that. 

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Yeah," Scotty says, nodding. "I remember."

"Good, because now I don't feel so bad about lecturing you." As Scotty's mouth opens in shock, Kevin goes on. "Listen up--I've never actually had to say this before, because I've always believed it to be common knowledge until now, but stepping in front of the path of a bullet is never a good idea. You might want to consider that the next time you come face to face with a bank robber holding a gun."

Scotty opens and closes his mouth a few times, and then he finally splutters, "Oh, and I suppose I'm not going to get any thanks for risking my life to, oh, I don't know, save _yours_ \--"

"You are," Kevin interrupts, stopping Scotty in his tracks, and grins. "I just wanted to point out how stupid that was before I said thank you."

Scotty closes his mouth after a moment. "Oh." Another pause. "You're welcome."

Kevin smiles again--it's really easy to do that, around this guy, he's finding out. With more than a little reluctance, he gets to his feet. "I should go call a nurse--they'll be wanting to talk to you. And the police will want to take your statement."

"Oh." Scotty looks--well, it's probably Kevin's wishful thinking, but he does look disappointed to see Kevin go. As he reaches the door, on impulse, Kevin turns around and asks, "This might seem ridiculous, but--at the bookstore. You were flirting with me, weren't you?"

Scotty's face breaks out into a smile. "And here I thought I was being blatant."

"Why?"

Scotty bites his lip and then says, "My New Year's resolution was to take more risks." That smile comes out again, as he adds, throwing his good arm out, "And look how well that turned out."

"Yeah, look at you now--in a hospital bed with a hole in your shoulder."

"And hopefully with the phone number of a really cute guy I met at the bookstore today," Scotty adds, grinning up at him.

Kevin looks at him for a moment, and then smiles back. "I think you can count on that last part."

*

_"...after the U.S Supreme Court's landmark decision to legalize gay marriage in the country, among the many couples seeking a marriage license were California's Kevin Walker and Scotty Wandell, who became among the first same-sex couples in the state to walk down the aisle...or fly, as the case may be..."_

\--"Wedding Bells Are Finally Ringing For All" by Diana Burton

End.

 


End file.
